On Friday 27 February, Big Think partner PwC hosted its second global webcast focused on the question, ‘What would you do if you were not afraid?’ The webcast was part of ‘Aspire to Lead: The PwC Women’s...

To Be More Productive, Scrap the To-Do List. Try the Anti-To-Do List.

To-do lists have long been a tool for keeping track of important tasks and increasing productivity, but in our more fluid lives and workplaces, the to-do list may have outlived its usefulness. Given the number of interruptions we now face--from email to instant messages to a faster-changing work environment--our lists of duties can easily frustrate as other tasks intrude. At the end of the day, the to-do list becomes a record of things you didn't accomplish: not a great reward for a long day's slog. But by keeping a list of tasks you have accomplished during the day, called an anti-to-do list because you've already done them, you can see all the things you did accomplish during the day and how you dealt with new challenges that emerged unexpectedly.

The anti-to-do list can also provide a little self-reflection, helping you keep better track of what your priorities actually are rather than what you (wishfully) think they are. This kind of self-reflection is in too short supply given the pace at which we live. When Joel Gascoigne, programmer at the social media company Buffer, began keeping an anti-to-do list, he found himself naturally gravitating toward managerial responsibilities. The reason is that he became more responsive to a wider set of concerns, rather than narrowly ticking off boxes that had only to do with his specific work.

Achieving greater productivity is about a lot more than having an empty inbox. As Wikipedia creator Jimmy Wales explains, leading a productive life is closely tied to imbuing it with meaning. That meaning in turns provides a great deal of satisfaction--in other words, happiness.